


Hug your bard

by EllieStormfound



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Fluff, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Needs a Hug, Hugging, Jaskier | Dandelion Needs a Hug, Kaer Morhen, M/M, Soft Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Soft Jaskier | Dandelion, Winter At Kaer Morhen, everyone is hugging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieStormfound/pseuds/EllieStormfound
Summary: "You should really hug your bard, he is a human, humans need hugs, especially this one"
Relationships: Eskel & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion & Lambert, Jaskier | Dandelion & Vesemir
Comments: 67
Kudos: 414





	Hug your bard

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, so if you find any weird spelling, wording or punctuatuion you know why :)
> 
> Please leave a comment <3

“Geralt,” Jaskier asked, “do you witchers… hug each other?”  
They were standing in the kitchen of Kaer Morhen, the only room that was remotely warm. Witchers had a higher tolerance for colder temperatures than humans and rarely light a fire in the other rooms before nightfall. At least not so early in the winter. Only in the kitchen a delightfully crackling fire could be found at all hours of the day. Jaskier wore a thick woolen cloak over his usual attire and had his arms wrapped around himself. 

“What do you mean?” Geralt replied, “you’ve seen us hug as we arrived.”  
Jaskier would not describe the quick embraces with the forceful on-the-back-pounding the witcher’s exchanged as hugging. 

They had arrived a week before and the bard had noticed to his delight how physical the witchers were with each other. During the warmer months when they were traveling they had to be so careful with the humans they met - some were hostile, some were afraid of them but even the friendly ones were so fragile compared to the trained and mutated physique of a witcher. But among themselves there was no need to hold back.

“That is all?” Jaskier asked with a frown. “No, we also hug when we leave again in spring,” Geralt said. During the winter in Kaer Morhen the witchers trained together. They had a regular schedule set by Vesemir. As long as it was possible they trained outside and it was a treat for the bard to watch them. Jaskier could write a thousand ballads about the clanking of their swords that echoed from the high stone walls of Kaer Morhen, the sun reflecting on the shining blades and how the witcher’s looked like dancers when they gracefully exchanged blows. 

“So you only hug twice a year?” he wanted to know. He was never quite sure when Geralt was kidding. His witcher looked at him for a moment and said, “yes, that’s about it.”  
Maybe they really did not need more physical contact. 

The training the bard loved watching the most was wrestling. He could practically see all the seriousness they wore like armour all year long drop off their shoulders when they started to tackle each other. The best part was when they started to pull off their armor and than their vests and at one glorious occasion their shirts so the bard could see their beautiful toned bodies in action. 

Training was not the only occasion the witchers sought physical contact with one another. In the evenings they ate together at the old wooden table in the kitchen. It was not big and on the two benches facing each other were only room for four. When Geralt had brought Jaskier with him they had carried an old chair over from the library for Vesemir to sit on. The oldest witcher had traded his place on the bench next to Geralt with Jaskier. Now the bard sat next to his witcher during dinner, legs pressed together on the narrow bench and elbows touching, mirroring how Eskel and Lambert shared their small space on the other side of the table.

\--------------------------------------------------------

Geralt was happy to be back in Kaer Morhen for the winter to spend time with his brothers. It was a time where they could be themselves and relax. The other witchers had asked him last year when he would finally bring the bard and he had thought of the long winter evenings and how Jaskier would fill their halls with his songs. So this year he had asked him if he wanted to accompany him and the bard happily agreed.

Geralt was glad to see how easily Jaskier found a place with the witchers, how eagerly he shared their daily chores of cooking, cleaning and caring for the animals and how openly the other witchers accepted him in their midst. 

But after a few days he had the feeling that something was wrong. Normally Jaskier never hesitated to inform Geralt about his problems and it concerned him that the bard had not done this so far. But he wanted to give him the opportunity to talk about it in his own time. 

\------------------------------------------------------

During the day the witchers often bumped their shoulders as a causal greeting or clapped each other on the back at a particularly funny joke. 

But the bard was excluded from a lot of these things. He was not interested in combat training himself and would have been bested by the witchers in a wrestling match in a heartbeat. And because his human body was not as sturdy as the witchers they refrained from the causal shoulder bums and claps on the back, even as he had tried to participate in them at the beginning. 

So Jaskier had found himself touch starved just after a couple of days at Kaer Morhen. During the warmer months it was easy for him to find company, at least when they traveled through towns and villages. And he had established a routine with Geralt that satisfied his other basic needs for human contact like helping the witcher wash away monster blood and intestines from his hair and body or sharing a bedroll at cold nights to keep the bard warm. But at Kaer Morhen there was no monster blood to wash out of Geralt’s white hair and even though it was cold, it was still warm enough in his small bedroom with the fire burning in the oven and a ton of blankets and furs piled on top of him. 

\---------------------------------------------------

Geralt had to admit that it was nice to have the bard around in the winter. But it was different than when they travelled together during the warmer months, when they were often alone together and had an established and comfortable routine. 

After a few days Geralt realized he kind of missed the casual touches of the bard. Being a witcher it was often hard on their travels to find friendly human touch and Jaskier was so willing and generous with it. Even though he had been hesitant at first now he enjoyed Jaskier washing his hair, massaging soothing oils into his sore skin after a fight or helping him putting on his armour, fastening all the leather straps. 

But these things were not necessary at Kaer Morhen and he was not sure how to initiate situations that let to the bard touching him. And he was not sure if Jaskier was interested in this. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

A few days later Jaskier stood alone in the kitchen, again in his green cloak and again with arms wrapped around himself. It was not just the cold that made him do this. After a morning of sword practice the witchers had vanished to different parts of the keep to fix roofs, collapsed walls and leaking pipes. The bard had helped a few times but today was his turn to prepare the dinner. He had already chopped a mountain of vegetables for a stew and was taking a short break, standing in front of the fire, absentmindedly watching the flames dance on the heavy logs. 

“Bard,” Lambert said as he entered the kitchen, bringing Jaskier back to the moment.  
“Ah, Lambert, hello,” he replied.  
The youngest witcher looked at him, eyebrows furrowed.  
“Is something wrong?” the bard asked.  
“You tell me,” Lambert said.  
Jaskier sighed and said, “I don’t know.”  
“Spit it out,” the witcher growled, not unfriendly.  
“I think I just need…” Jaskier began and without further thinking said, “I need a hug.” 

Jaskier had thought about asking Geralt for a hug but had rejected the idea. Early on in their friendship Jaskier had learned that Geralt was not a hugger. All the little casual touches he allowed Jaskier now could all be interpreted as practical things, but Geralt seemed to not see any practical use in hugs. 

A grin spread over Lambert’s face. “Geralt will kill me for this, but fuck him, come here, I am going to hug you.” 

And he did. And it was an excellent hug. Lambert was taller than Jaskier, not as tall as Geralt, but Jaskier could comfortably burrow his face in the hollow of the witcher’s neck. Lambert had wrapped his arms around Jaskier’s shoulders, pressing him carefully to his broad chest and resting his cheek on the bard’s head. Jaskier placed his arms around Lambert’s middle and breathed in the scent of the other, a comforting mix of clean linen, lavender and fresh sweat. With pure joy the bard relaxed into the gentle but firm embrace. They stood like this for a few minutes.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Geralt was sweaty and tired, his muscles sore from the training and from working at odd angles on a broken roof for hours. He just wanted to grab a snack from the kitchen before going to his room to wash and change into fresh clothes. 

The kitchen was uncharacteristically quiet for Jaskier having kitchen duty and Geralt stopped dead when he entered the kitchen and saw Jaskier and … Lambert standing in front of the fire, arms wrapped around each other. He felt his pulse quicken as a surge of anger washed over him. 

“What the…”, Jaskier untangled himself from Lambert and took a step back at the sound of Geralt’s voice. “What the fuck are you doing?”, Geralt asked. He knew he had no right to be angry, but seeing Lambert, the prick, embracing his bard was just infuriating. 

“It is called hugging,” Lambert replied with a wicked grin. 

“Why the fuck are you hugging Jaskier?” Geralt growled at the younger witcher. With a quick glance to the bard he saw Jaskier blush but showing no sign no of unease towards the younger witcher. This should have soothed him but weirdly made him more angry and … jealous? 

“The question is, why the fuck aren’t you hugging the bard?”, Lambert replied.

Geralt’s eyes wandered between Lambert and Jaskier, who was looking down at his shoes. 

“Why should I hug him?” Geralt asked with a bit less of a growl. And he asked the question not just Lambert but also himself. Why should he not hug him? Jaskier was his friend.

“You should really hug your bard, he is a human, humans need hugs, especially this one,” Lambert replied as he walked over to Geralt, patting him on the arm. Geralt watched him leave with a confused stare. He breathed in deep, trying to sort his racing thoughts. 

Jaskier cleared his throat and Geralt looked at him again. The bard’s face was still flushed, his hair tousled and he was still not looking Geralt in the eyes. 

“Why didn’t you say something?” Geralt asked, slowly walking over to Jaskier. 

“I did not think you were comfortable with this,” Jaskier replied silently, finally looking up into Geralt’s golden eyes. 

Geralt could not suppress a smile that turned into a wicked grin and asked Jaskier, “do you want another hug now or do you need wait for an hour or something?” 

Jaskier playfully boxed Geralt’s chest and said “you are an asshole,” but closed the final distance between them and felt strong arms pulling him into a tight embrace. 

Lambert’s hug had been excellent but wrapped not only in Geralt’s arms but also in his familiar scent felt like coming home. It reminded Jaskier of nights huddled together in small beds in inns when there were too few coins for another bed, of brushing Geralt’s tangled hair and of wearing his shirt after Jaskier’s own bag with all his clothes had fallen into a stinking pond. 

Geralt felt himself relax against his friend. Sometimes the solutions for his problems were so simple. He placed a hand on the back of Jaskier’s neck, softly stroking the side of his neck with his thumb and buried his face in Jaskier’s soft brown curls. 

“Is this good?” Jaskier more felt than heard the vibration of Geralt’s deep voice.

“This is wonderful,” the bard replied. 

“Is this what has been bothering you the last days?” Geralt asked. He felt Jaskier smile. “Yes.” 

After a moment Geralt asked, voice still muffled with his face buried in Jaskier’s hair, “so how often do you need hugs?”

With a little huff the bard replied, “it is not a mathematical problem with a definite answer.”

“So at least 10 times a day?” was Geralt’s amused answer. “At least,” Jaskier said with a smile. 

And so it came. Not only Geralt supplied his bard with the much needed hugs, the other witchers found every occasion to hug him too. Jaskier suspected that Lambert had told them. 

The bardloved how different they all were. Eskel’s hugs were soft and he often hummed - to Jaskier’s joy. Vesemir’s side-hugs and careful pats on the back made him fondly think of his grandfather. Lambert was always present and focused on Jaskier and was excellent in figuring out what the bard wanted at that moment. 

But Geralt’s firm embraces were still his favourite. 

Hugging Jaskier quickly became the favourite part of Geralt’s days. There were still irrational surges of jealousy when he saw the others embrace the bard, but he was reassured when he realized that Jaskier came to him for hugs way more often than to the others. And when Jaskier complained that the nights had gotten so cold that he could no longer sleep alone, Geralt did not hesitate to loudly proclaim that Jaskier would sleep in his bed, before Lambert, the prick, had a chance to invite him into his bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Hugs for you, hugs for you and hugs for you!
> 
> I am convinced that Lambert and Eskel are excellent huggers! What do you think? Which witcher do you want to hug?
> 
> Find me on tumblr [EllieStormfound](https://elliestormfound.tumblr.com/)


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